JAVS Spring 2019

Example 1. Rochberg, Sonata for Viola and Piano, I, mm. 1–11

This formal boundary is signaled not only by the bass line’s descent by fifth, but also by the preceding hemiola like rhythm in mm. 8–9, a gesture frequently used to signal an impending cadence. The emphasis on the tonal frame from F to C implied by both the bass line and the initial two melodic pitches suggests a pitch center of F. Although this music is certainly not in “F major” or “F minor,” in the context of this piece the note F assumes the stability of a “tonic,” while the note C acts as a “dominant.” In addition to these harmonic allusions to tonality, the formal structure of this theme further strengthens its connection to common-practice-era repertoire. The initial phrase resembles a pattern common in the classical era: a sentence. 6

As an eighteenth-century example of a prototypical sentence, consider the soloist’s first phrase in Carl Stamitz’s Viola Concerto in D major, Op. 1 (ex. 2). The first two measures present the basic idea. Next comes the repetition (mm. 3–4), where the initial gesture is repeated, possibly with slight alterations. The final four bars (mm. 5–8) form the continuation, which often starts with a fragmented form of the motive and ends with a push towards a cadence. While a prototypical sentence structure has these 2+2+4 proportions, in the opening phrase of Rochberg’s Sonata, the hemiola expands the continuation to a total length of 6 bars.

Example 2. Stamitz, Concerto for Viola and Orchestra in D major, Op. 1, I, mm. 72–79, (solo viola)

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 35, No. 1, Spring 2019

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